Product Review: CyberPower GX1325U True Sine Wave Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Here's a very in-depth and honest look at CyberPower Systems' GX1325U sine wave uninterruptible power supply. It's the model to buy if you need such a thing, but there isn't much competition.

The good:
1. Yes, it really has a true sine wave output. And that output *stays* clean even under heavy, highly inductive loads. I didn't expect it to do nearly as well as it did!
2. It passed my brutal "furnace fan" test and kept a Power Macintosh G5's very picky power supply happy.
3. It has a serial port, though presumably only for simple signaling.
4. You can use it to provide a power backup for almost anything that plugs into an outlet, so long as you don't exceed the ratings.
5. Pricing is very competitive with other UPSes having only a "stepped" sine wave output.
6. It's basically the only UPS having a true sine wave output at this price point.
7. The alarm beeper can be silenced, and the status display made to illuminate constantly.
8. Three year warranty.

The bad:
1. Automatic voltage regulation only boosts low line voltage. High line voltage conditions require this UPS switch to its battery.
2. Line voltage reaches approximately 140 volts AC before the UPS intervenes and switches over to battery. Most anything should stand this for a little while, but it's stressful and I could see some devices not taking it so well.
3. Batteries appear to be custom-made for CyberPower, thus locking you in to their replacements (at least for now). Given some time, I am sure the aftermarket will come through and you could always modify the unit to run with external batteries.
4. An equipment protection policy having some ridiculous claimed value is provided should a failure of this product damage your equipment. Just read the fine print, expect technicalities galore if you ever should file a claim and be prepared to provide superlative proof that everything was in order.
5. CyberPower doesn't discuss the serial port or what you can use it for in their documentation. (Maybe it's on their web site.)
6. Adjustments of the unit's operational characteristics don't seem to be possible through its front panel interface, beyond the most basic settings (display constantly on and beeper muted).

[zxztv]

Well that looks like a doozie of an inverter to me, sinewave clean and very forgiving too.
Bill, you would make an excellent sales man, you can make anything sound interesting :-D.

[GeckonCZ]

3 videos in 24 hours? We're Not Worthy!

[patrickslevin]

Thank bought one of these a week or so ago and really like it. Hopes it works out in an emergency for my ham radios. I had several friends recommend these to protect the radios from voltage or current spikes.

[johnvirginia]

I love this new power supply I just got yesterday because it was windy and my non-sine wave apc ups Would not carry my computer during a power flicker. I would’ve got either brand for my new one but this one was the only one in stock and it was cheaper with the same specs as APC who have loved for over a decade. That’s OK I will keep both and now my router and modem will have hours of use even if my computer takes up all the juice on the power supply

[jefferyb]

I once plugged an early 70's Magnavox stereo into an modified sine wave inverter. I quickly found out it was not happy even though current draw was well within tolerance, ect. Funniest thing is I left that stereo plugged in to the wall socket one time. Dad came in from work and his tick tracer went off when he laid it on the normally unplugged stereo. LOL.

[btwbrand]

I have an XS1000 battery backup from APC I spent 23$ on and I've been very happy with it after I threw their 2 tiny12v batteries into the recycling bin and installed four used 35AH 12V "wheelchair" batteries in their place in a series/parallel configuration for a 24V 70AH battery bank. Run time @~ 357 Watts power draw increased from 3 minutes to over 2 hours. I did add a fan for active cooling of the power circuitry, use oversized wiring, bolted connections, and fuse protected the battery circuit to 30Amps. Once a month I externally charge each battery individually to ensure they remain balanced. On average it keeps the PC from restarting ~9 times a month. Beats spending nearly 2000 for the same performance.

[pyrioncelendil]

Having bought one of these, I can point out that there are adjustments doable that require pressing combinations of the three front buttons, and they include an instruction sheet for implementing them. The ones you probably care about the most: alarm toggle, by holding down the silence alarm button for two seconds; voltage sensitivity (before it switches over to battery), by holding down the alarm and control buttons for three seconds, upon which you can change the setting by pressing the display button or the silence alarm button; the battery self-test is done by holding down the control button for three seconds.

[Spinal]

I have the 1500VA version of this UPS and for under $200 (i picked it up on sale) it works well. I've unplugged it from AC power and on a full charge was able to watch a 20 minute TV show on netflix on my pc, which is about midrange spencs by todays standards, and still had 5 minutes or so to spare. And incase anyone does not know, the software you get from their website you can adjust the sensitivity for when the UPS kicks in, its not a huge amount but better than nothing.

[twocvbloke]

Nice smooth output there, best bit about true sinewave inverters is they're quieter too, stepped or square-wave inverters (like my Belkin and Trust UPSes) are just awful for noise when they're operating, but my two Tripp Lites are silent, apart from the scream of the beepers... :)

[JJnATX]

really enjoyed your review. very detailed / thorough.

[retrovac]

I started watching your hamfest finds video as there was nothing else in my subscriptions worth watching. By the end of that video this one had been newly posted; I guess that works out!

[averyalexander]

Awesome review! Very through and informative. It's weird that your unit won't buck a high voltage though. I have a Cyberpower 1500PFCLCD and I know for a fact that it will both boost a low voltage as well as buck a high voltage. However, I also changed the sensitivity to high in the software. I have it set to boost voltage below 88 volts and buck voltage above 136 volts, and it does both quite well.

[InquisiitorWHK]

Nice review. I've got a whole house generator, which is great when the power goes out but there is a short delay between when the generator starts and it switches over. Been looking for a UPS to power my router and modem to bridge that gap in power. This one seems a bit over kill in the capacity department for my needs but I like the fact that when they say its a true sine wave it really is. Ordered the CP850PFCLCD. Thanks for the video for helping me decide.

[georgez]

Wow!! you are on a roll my friend . Nice unit a little pricey but i guess you get what you pay for

[TheShawn]

Thanks for the great review. Lots of good information and well produced.

[lolman]

Funny how a damn UPS where USB isn't needed at all comes with said USB cable, but a printer doesn't come with the cable which is required to use the thing.

[dtabor]

i think you can change the high line limit in the provided software

[fastidioushandyman]

I just bought the same exact one on sale on Newegg for $125 with free shipping last week. Hope she's worth it!

[blastshieldaddiction]

Believe it or not, I watched this twice.

[Browningate]

It wouldn't be the first time BestBuy pulled those kinds of shenanigans to prevent price matching. I've got a Mitsubishi CRT rear projection high definition television (technically only an HD monitor) at home with a rather unusual model number (WS-A65) when compared with the rest of Mitsubishi's rear projection product lineup. Turns out that this was a "BestBuy exclusive" anti-pricematch product as well because it hardly differs from its sister models outside of the model number (it has a cheaper screen shield and one menu option removed; apart from that, it's functionality identical).